Honey Pumpkin Dinner Rolls are the perfect fall twist on classic dinner rolls. They’re soft and fluffy, easy to make, and perfect for feeding a crowd. I always make room on my Thanksgiving table for these! Serve with salted butter, honey, and cranberry sauce for the ultimate experience.
“I have made many many bread recipes and these are BY FAR the best I’ve ever had!! Whole family raved about them. They’re hard to stop eating. Thanks for the recipe!!” – Alice C., So Much Food reader
Table of contents
Super Soft and Fluffy Dinner Rolls Infused with Pumpkin
If you’ve been searching for an easy homemade dinner roll recipe to set out on your Thanksgiving table, look no further than these pumpkin-infused beauties!
This recipe is a spinoff of my classic dinner rolls recipe, which uses both bread flour and all-purpose flour for the perfect balance of sturdiness and fluffiness. The basic yeast dough is enriched with high-fat ingredients like butter and whole milk for tenderness, while pumpkin puree add lots of moisture.
Even if you’re intimidated by baking bread, these honey pumpkin dinner rolls couldn’t be easier. They only require a few ingredients and even the most novice baker can make this recipe!
Jenny’s Tips for Making Dinner Rolls From Scratch
Don’t skimp on the fat! The crustier and chewier the bread, the less fat there is in the dough. This is known as ‘lean’ dough. Unlike bagels or crusty sourdough, soft dinner rolls need fat — making it a ‘rich’ dough. The milk, butter, and egg in this honey pumpkin dinner roll recipe keep the dough nice and soft, so don’t omit or substiute them!
Check your yeast’s expiration. Old yeast may not work, so make sure your yeast is fresh. If your yeast doesn’t get foamy in the milk, get some new yeast and start over.
Weigh your flour for best results. I always weigh my flour specifically and this keeps me from adding too much. Too much flour also can result in heavy and dense rolls.
Don’t rush the dough when it’s rising. Find a warm-ish spot in your kitchen (at least 70ºF) and let the dough do its thing, especially after shaping. Dough that hasn’t risen enough will yield hard rolls.
Special Tools I Suggest Using
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Flour. This recipe uses both bread and all-purpose flour. The AP flour keeps the rolls light and fluffy while the bread flour gives them structure.
- Active dry yeast. Unlike instant yeast, active dry yeast must be dissolved in liquid (in this case, warm milk) and left to become foamy before it can be mixed into the dough.
- Honey. Instead of sugar, honey gets the yeast nice and active and gives the rolls a slightly sweet flavor.
- Pumpkin puree. You could also swap in sweet potato puree. Make sure to use canned (or homemade) pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Milk. I used whole milk in this recipe, but you can swap 2% if needed.
- Butter. Butter makes the rolls so soft and elastic. Make sure your butter is soft before adding it.
- Egg. One egg helps bind the dough together, while creating a tender crumb. It also works with the pumpkin to give the dinner rolls a gorgeous golden hue.
An Overview of How to Make Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Activate the yeast in a mixture of warm milk and honey. Aim for milk that’s about 100ºF (any hotter and yeast will be killed and your dinner rolls won’t be fluffy).
- Add the pumpkin puree and egg to the milk mixture. Wait to do this until the yeast is foamy.
- Finish the dough. Add the wet ingredients to the dry (both types of flour and salt). Then, add the softened butter and mix on medium-low speed until smooth and elastic.
- Let rise for until doubled in size. Be sure to transfer the dough to a clean, greased bowl so it can rise smoothly. My dough took about 2 hours to double in size, but yours might rise faster if you live somewhere warmer.
- Punch down the dough, shape, and let rise for another hour. This process is very simple, you just need to be patient as you divide and shape the dough into 12 balls.
- Bake until golden brown. I like to brush my pumpkin yeast rolls with egg wash and honey for shine and color. I also sprinkled them with pepitas, for a bit of crunch and texture.
No stand mixer? No problem! Using a dough whisk, whisk the dough ingredients together in a large mixing bowl (follow the below instructions). This is going to require a lot of elbow grease as this is a stiff dough. You’ll have to knead the dough by hand for at least 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Make-Ahead Tips
If you plan to make these dinner rolls for Thanksgiving, there’s already a lot going on! You may not have 3 hours to dedicate to one culinary project, so let’s talk alternate options.
- Option 1: Shape the dough, refrigerate it, and bake off the next day. Prepare the dough, let it rise, shape it, and then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, let the dough rise on the counter for about 2 hours and then bake. Making these ahead of time can take some of the work off your plate on the day of.
- Option 2: Shape the dough, then freeze until ready to bake. Prepare the dough, let it rise, shape it, and then freeze the rolls in a freezer-safe baking pan. Once frozen, they won’t stick together anymore and you can transfer them to a freezer bag. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge and then rise on the counter (covered) in a baking pan for about 4-5 hours, then bake.
- Option 3: Bake the rolls, then freeze them. When ready to eat, wrap the frozen rolls loosely in foil, then bake in a 300ºF oven just until warmed through (about 15 minutes).
Main Dishes to Serve with These Dinner Rolls
These are the perfect Thanksgiving dinner rolls, in my humble opinion, but they also work well with your favorite fall entrees throughout the week. Try pairing them with one of the following:
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
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Honey Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
Dough:
- 3/4 cup whole milk , warmed to 100 degrees F (177ml)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 standard envelope)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 300 g all purpose flour (about 2 cups)
- 300 g bread flour (about 2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened (2 oz or 56 g)
Topping:
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
- granulated sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and honey together in the bowl of your stand mixer and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours and salt and set aside. I recommend using a scale for the flour and not a measuring cup.
- Add the egg and pumpkin puree to the milk mixture and the flour. Mix on medium-low speed until the dough just starts to come together. Add the softened butter and mix on medium-low for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. If your dough is very sticky, add a bit more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, Transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Grease a 9×13 rimmed baking sheet or baking pan. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Transfer to a clean workstation (you shouldn't need flour as the dough should be tacky, but not sticky). Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape the rolls into smooth balls and arrange them in the prepared pan, giving the rolls an inch of space between each other.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise for another hour or so, until puffy and touching.
- Preheat an oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, water, and honey until smooth. Brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and a light sprinkling of sugar (optional). Bake for 20-22 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
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Rate & Review This Recipe
[…] Honey Pumpkin Dinner Rolls — SO MUCH FOOD […]
These were so bomb!
I made 2oz portions to get more than 12, and the size of the rolls was still substantial. We used these for post Thanksgiving slider with pulled pork, cranberry BBQ, and French’s onions. I suspect this could also be used as a cinnamon roll base. Love love!
SOOOO good, how do you dream up these combos?!
Great recipe. Turned out well, disappeared quickly once cool enough to eat.
I have made many many bread recipes and these are BY FAR the best I’ve ever had!! Whole family raved about them. They’re hard to stop eating. Thanks for the recipe!!
Yay, I love hearing this, Alice! So happy you loved them as much as I do!
I am from Europe. I am not sure if it was our European ingredients, but I had to use so much more flour to get the dough to have the right texture, about double the amount… They turned out amazing though.
Hi! Since I provide the recipe in grams, it shouldn’t have affected the recipe. But did you see that it calls for 300g of two different flours (600g in total)? That may be where you may have deviated. Hope that helps!
@Jenny haha no I did not, and that explains it why I had to add double the amount, I literally only added HALF of it xD Thank you!!
Hehehe! It happens to be the best of us but I’m so glad you were able to troubleshoot!